Football Zebras

What is the officiating like at a training camp scrimmage?

by Mark Schultz - August 12, 2021August 12, 2021 03978

This past week and in the coming few weeks, NFL teams will hold inter-squad scrimmages or scrimmage with another NFL team. It is not a formal game. It's a chance for players to get a semi-real feel of a game. The NFL assigns officials to these scrimmages to work the

6 officiating observations from Super Wild Card weekend

by Mark Schultz - January 11, 2021January 11, 2021 04292

Six football games in 48 - hours! Whew! The games start to blend together. Here are some officiating observations and notes from this weekend. 1. Two alternates The last time an alternate came in to work was in 2007, due to an injury. This week we had two alternates start the game --

5 observations from championship weekend

by Mark Schultz - January 21, 2019January 21, 2019 96060

http://gty.im/1097101968 For the first time ever, both the NFC and AFC Championship games went to overtime in the same season. There is plenty to write about from the officiating perspective this weekend. Here are just a few of the things that stuck out to me. Crucial missed calls In the NFC Championship Game,

1st use of new rule might not be right use

by Ben Austro - September 10, 2013September 10, 2013 24081

Week 1: Texans at Chargers (video) Post updated: The league has stated the rule was incorrectly applied (see below). The Competition Committee looked at a specific instance of dangerous play at the request of players: the vulnerability of the center when he is performing a long snap for a field goal kick.

Green crew should’ve shut down ugly play

by Ben Austro - November 29, 2012December 2, 2012 02981

Saints at Falcons (video) This was a downright sloppy play by Scott Green's crew on Thursday night no matter how you look at it, even though the final ruling on the play was correct. Falcons running back Michael Turner seemed to be stopped and then lost the ball. (This part is correct,

Week 2 open forum, assignments

by Ben Austro - September 18, 2011September 19, 2011 03469

Entering Week 2, let us know in the comments or @footballzebras if you see anything in this week's games that seems to be the wrong call. Referee assignments after the jump. Quick calls Browns at Colts | 2nd quarter | :38 remaining. A touchdown run by Peyton Hillis was reviewed and reversed.

Replay-challenged crew delays game to avoid 5-yard error

by Ben Austro - November 23, 2009 13305

When I started this blog, the idea was to provide insights and analysis of the officiating crews in the National Football League. Since the Internet is chock full of finger-pointing and conspiracy theories against those in the monochromatic jerseys, I decided we would avoid becoming a contributing voice to that